Bringing learning to life

April 22, 2012May 11, 2012 Roz.Geridis Classroom Management, Occasional Teaching, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Working with or as an Occasional Teacher

When thinking about occasional teacher planning many questions could go through one’s thinking process (what do I leave, how much, what do I bring?). If you are an occasional teacher you need to be able to teach for the time you are in the class with plans or not. If you are a contract teacher, you want the occasional to teach what you would do even if you were there. I just finished having a student teacher in my classroom and as her practicum was coming close to an end, the conversation of occasional teaching came up. She wanted to know how I decided what to leave for an occasional and how much but also what she should expect as an occasional teacher. Below is a summary of what I shared with her:

Planning for an occasional teacher

1) Make sure you leave a current seating plan.

2) Leave tips and notes about your students but remember to be professional as sometimes notes are left in the room for kids to see. Only phrase things in a positive language, leave strategies to help the occasional connect with your students, and 1 or 2 students who the occasional can ask questions about the routine.

3) Leave as much information about your class as possible but remember all information will not always be read. Don’t forget to highlight the allergies in the class and if epi-pens are used (if so, where the epi-pens are stored).

4) Leave lessons which your students will be able to complete. Usually, I still leave my lesson (as if I am there), I make sure I am prepared to complete an assessment for learning when I immediately return. The reason for this is the classroom teacher understands how each student learns, the comfort is there for the student to ask questions and clarify misunderstandings. Also, sometimes occasional teachers don’t have enough background information to connect the lesson for the students, students sometimes behave differently with occasional teachers and lessons are taught differently; the full lesson might not have been taught. I can’t tell you how many times I have returned to my class with a note stating the effort was made but the redirection of behaviour took up too much class time. That being said, I make sure lessons are connected to the curriculum but sometimes I may need to do something different than following my unit plan. It sometimes helps to make the occasional teacher’s day a little more fun.

5) Schedules – leave them in the supply folder. All resource, yard duty, classroom schedules need to be available for an occasional to view.

6) If you need items for a science experiment or art lesson, leave items out or in one location and share the location of items with the occasional teacher.

Working as an Occasional Teacher

1) Arrive as early as possible to give yourself time to review notes and lessons left by the classroom teacher.

2) Be familiar with the grade curriculum (if possible).

3) Try to connect with the neighbour teacher and ask any questions you may have.

4) Have a Language, Math, Science lesson in your bag, as a back up. On very few occasions you may walk into a classroom which has no lessons available for the day. If you have a lesson for each of these subjects, you can fill the day. Based on the grade, have some addition, subtraction, multiplication, division review fun sheets in order for the kids to complete (begin with asking the students to complete any 5, then to pick another 2, and so on). If no photocopier is available, write the questions on the board or display them on the smartboard and have the students record the questions and answers in their math workbooks. For Science or Language, you can have a story book related to the environment. “Where the Forest Meets the Sea”by Jeannie Baker or “The Lorax”by Dr. Suess are two great examples which can begin discussion on environmental issues, based on a situation you give them have the students develop different endings. Another Science activity might be a recycle sort — go through the classroom garbage bin (bring plastic gloves) and sort out what can be recycled or put in a compost. Again, there are many story books you can tie this theme to. For Language, you can use the newspaper and have the students discuss an article you feel is age appropriate. You can also have the kids write down 3 truths and a lie about themselves — then each student presents the 4 statements to the class. The class has to guess which is the lie. The students really enjoy this activity and it does take up an hour and sometimes even more (if the class size is bigger). Please don’t forget about your diversity of learners and adjust your lessons as needed.

5) Don’t forget about yard duty.

6) Try to deal with classroom behaviour in the class. But of course, if safety of yourself or other students is/are at risk, make sure you immediately contact the administration. Having a little reward planned for the end of the day helps students to look forward to something. Making the connection by saying hello/good morning to every student as they enter helps to start off the day well.

7) Say good bye to the administration and thank you to the office assistant(s).

8) Most of all…enjoy the day!

April 12, 2012April 13, 2012 Tina.Ginglo Building Inclusion, Resources

Bringing Personal Excitement and Passion to the Classroom-Outdoor Education

In the first chapter of The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning, four themes of success were shared. These themes were compiled from teachers’ stories about what contributes to their success in the classroom. I had the opportunity to observe one of those themes, the passion for teaching, first hand when I watched my teacher candidate bring a plants and soils unit to life for my third grade students. Eve is passionate about environmental education, stewardship and education for sustainability. I encouraged her to bring her excitement, background knowledge, and experiences into our classroom. And did she ever! It’s spring and Eve made sure to make the most of the mild March weather. The days are longer, warmer and colour is starting to dot our landscapes. It is a perfect time to get reacquainted with the outdoor classroom. However, as Eve effectively demonstrated, outdoor classroom expectations must be established before learning can occur. Eve reminded me of three important tips to consider before taking students outdoors to learn:

Tip #1- Establish classroom boundaries– Mark out the boundaries of your outdoor classroom with visible landmarks. For example, you might say, you are not to go beyond those three oak trees in the field and you must stay on this side of the soccer field. Hold out your arm and trace the area of the outdoor classroom with your finger. Make sure that your students are able to tell you what the outdoor classroom boundaries are before you start an activity.

Tip #2- Establish a meeting place where students know to return to when it is time to regroup. Our students knew to meet in front of the playscape in our schoolyard.

Tip #3- Establish a signal for regrouping- Eve chose the signal, “chicadee-dee-dee.” Students knew that when they heard the “chickadee-dee-dee” call, it was time to stop what they were doing and regroup at our predetermined meeting place.

There were many times during her four-week practicum when the students were a tad loud, silly, and full of energy. At times like these some of us may decide to take away a planned outdoor activity as a consequence for unsettled behavior, but not Eve. Committed to her beliefs about teaching and learning, Eve would argue that if students seem unsettled inside, it is the perfect time to continue the learning in our “outdoor classroom” and she was right! Engagement rose to a new level each time we took the students outside to learn. Some of these outdoor activities included making mud bricks out of soil, water and wood chips, measuring the diameter of tree trunks for the fabric tree banners students created to wrap around our school’s trees, and digging dirt to explore the different types of soil in our school yard.

Eve believes that, “We must show students not what they can take from the land, but what they can learn from it.” I believe she did an extraordinary job establishing this enduring understanding in our class.

If you are interested in outdoor education and environmental education these resources may be of interest to you:

The link included below is an article that talks about how students’ capacity to learn increases when they are taken outside. This article notes how nature can help children pay attention, motivate them to learn and improve classroom behaviour and scores on standardized tests.
http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/2010/10/07/outdoor-education-and-play-benefit-all-education/

You may want to visit the website for The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario. They are hosting a conference in September!

Ministry Resources-
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/enviroed/publications.html

Shaping Our Future, Shaping Our Schools: Environmental Education in Ontario Schools

April 11, 2012April 11, 2012 Alison.Board Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning in a Real Life Context, Planning

Excursions

When I taught Kindergarten last year, it was a half-day program. This was challenging for excursions, since we only had a two and half hour window to go somewhere and get back to the school so the children could meet their day-care providers for pick-up. This year, with my Grade 1/2 class, I have enjoyed many class trips. Most of them I organized or booked back in September to support the learning of our “big ideas.” A couple of trips were more spontaneous, like a trip to hear an orchestra, which was organized by the school.

On one of the trips, a parent volunteer that joined us for the day asked, ” Why do some classes in the school have more trips than others?” She thought that the trips were arranged by the school (administration?) for each particular class. This surprised me, but I explained that it was the discretion of the teacher. Years ago, my mentor suggested taking students on a trip once a month. I remembered this, and tried it out this year.

The places we visited were connected to our big ideas. I found the excursions worthwhile as it engaged the students, affirmed our sense of community as we ventured out of the school together, and provided alternative contexts for the students to create new connections and understanding. We visited a variety of facilities ranging from museums to conservation parks, which offered a range of indoor and outdoor experiences appealing to the many learning styles of the students.

Taking photos on the trip is a great way to document the learning. These photos can be shared with parents on a website as a form of communication or presented back to the students to promote more questions and thoughts. I often asked the students the same question when we returned, “What did you notice?” And it always amazed me how this open-ended question elicited observations that I never expected. We then recorded the observations of the students and used them for further investigation or discussion.

Class trips are like family vacations, you may not recall day to day events, but you often remember the big trips with happy memories.

Our class gets a guided tour at the zoo.

April 1, 2012April 2, 2012 Alison.Board Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, General, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Big Ideas as Themes

I enjoyed reading Sangeeta’s blog and the meaningful themes that her students are learning about in her classroom. When she says, “there are some conflicting opinions about the use of themes in teaching” it is more likely the use of themes that lack relevance, scope, and purpose, such as a theme devoted entirely to apples or penguins. The themes that Sangeeta have chosen are meaningful to her students and it is evident that she has selected them as the needs of her students have emerged throughout the year.

In my Grade 1 and 2 class we are learning the curriculum using similar themes, though we call them big ideas. These big ideas are umbrellas for the various subjects and strands that we are working on. The big idea provides a lens to consider our world. I used a question format for the students, asking them “What is hope?” at the beginning of the 2 month inquiry, then again at the end.

Here are my reflections on the first big idea that we embarked on back in September:

By recording the children’s responses I could see that the children had similar ideas of hope as wanting or wishing, such as “I hope I get a new toy.” Only one comment (made by L.) seemed to differ in that it touched on worry or care for others. The children need an opportunity to consider hope in a deeper context. I looked at the sub-questions developed in connection to the Science and Social Studies curriculum, Why is hope important to our community? How is hope different for other communities around the world? How do the sun, air, and water (as energy/life source) give hope to people in our community and other communities around the world?

I needed to find rich texts to read aloud that would provide the opportunity to discuss the idea of hope in relation to our own community and communities elsewhere in the world.

The following four texts became the foundation for our inquiry that were not in the original long range plan:

Poor Fish (local and global environment)	Listen to the Wind (Korphe, Pakistan)
Lila and the Secret of Rain (Africa)	The Whispering Cloth (Thailand)

In my long range plans, I had outlined the culminating task as a fabric picture, using a variety of textiles to represent their understanding of hope in the context of their local community (grade one) or another community in the world (grade two). Part of our learning included a class trip to the Textile Museum of Canada. This trip provided us with information about the symbolism and purpose of clothing in African cultures. It also gave the students an opportunity to explore textiles, wool, and weaving in a hands-on area.

After our trip to the Museum of Textiles, extended “inquiry time” in the class to pursue topics and interests at various centers, and discussions around our four foundation books, the children started to make their own observations and connections. Integrating the science curriculum for both grades, which included focus on the sun’s energy (grade 1) and the need for air and water (grade 2) contributed to their understanding of the texts. I asked the children again “What is hope?”

M.: To keep the environment clean.

L.: To build a school.

A.: For rain to cool down the land, fill the wells so people will not die.

M.: To live in a new country; to have a home.

K.: To go to school.

The children’s responses are reflecting their understanding of hope in other contexts. I see them making connections between the books that we read. They are also showing interest in locating the various countries that are the settings for the texts. When we were in the computer lab many of the children searched their country of interest on Google Earth. Some students were surprised to see the snow covered mountainous terrain of Korph, Pakistan. What a difference when they compared the region to their own street where they live.

L. takes her chair to work by the map where she is working on locating Korphe, Pakistan and describing its climate.

When it came time for the culminating project, I doubted my decision to rely on the fabric representation for assessment. So, I created a graphic organizer or template for the children to complete first.

Grade 2 student, L.,uses detailed drawings to represent her knowledge when comparing her community with a community in Pakistan. Note the curly lines in the mountains representing the effects of the air as wind in the higher altitude of Korphe.

L.’s fabric representation shows the altitude of the Korphe community, the challenge of the water that was previously crossed using a wire pulley and a box to sit in, as well as the wise man who slipped. Their need for a bridge to connect them to building supplies and resources is more clearly needed before planning for a school.

A Grade 2 student, uses fabric to effectively demonstrate her understanding of the dry African landscape. She has also shown perspective with a home and person in the background on the horizontal line, skills that were explored during instruction of the visual arts curriculum.

At the end of the inquiry, I asked the students if their ideas had changed about hope;

K.: Hope is more about needing something, like a place to live, food or water to survive.

L.: We pretty much have everything we need.

In addition to the observations, recorded conservations, and demonstrations of understanding through their independent works – their final responses to the question “What is hope” showed how much they had learned from the first day we considered this big idea.

March 29, 2012March 30, 2012 Sangeeta.McAuley Building Inclusion, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Planning, Social Justice, Use of Technology

Themes As the Driving Force

While there are some conflicting opinions about the use of themes in teaching, I have found that they are extremely powerful tools we can use to help our students connect their world to curriculum subjects.

I began my school year with the theme of Identity, so my Grade 4 students could know more about who they are as individuals. We examined factors like religion, gender, family, and media and how they play a role in shaping our identities. I was particularly excited to zero in on gender, in an attempt to work on one of the UN Millennium goals:

Goal #3 – Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)

This led us to discuss stereotypes that can exist for males and females and through drama, visual arts and writing, my students reflected on their experiences and how stereotypes can lead to exclusion. We read personal stories and viewed clips from the site, “Because I Am A Girl” (http://becauseiamagirl.ca/) and they mapped places in the world where these stories came from and looked for patterns. At the end, students wrote about themselves and their learning in a blown-up version of their individual fingerprints.

Over the course of working within this theme, I began to see the challenges my students had with the concept of Choice and realized I had found my next theme to explore with them.

Goal #1 – End Poverty and Hunger

Goal #2 – Achieve Universal Education

My students made puppet shows on iPads to illustrate a time when they had to make a difficult choice and we studied persuasive writing and how their voices can have an impact on the choices others make. Closer to the holiday season, we planned a fundraiser and I shared Unicef’s website and the survival gifts program (www.unicef.ca/). They convinced me that we should raise money to send a child to school because that would decrease the chances of this child living in poverty. So, we sold popcorn throughout our school, in the hopes of raising $75 to send a child to school. My students designed posters, they went to each class in the school and shared our idea, they counted and tracked the money that came in with the orders and to our surprise, we raised $300 and were able to send 4 children to school. Their one condition before I made the donation: can you please make sure that it is 2 boys and 2 girls?

Over the holidays, I contemplated how relatively quiet my mind was because I wasn’t hearing the daily concerns: he’s not sharing the soccer ball, I can’t find a teacher to help me outside, no one will play with me. In order to help my students with some of these issues, I needed to move to Power and its role in relationships and specifically on the playground. My students took post-its notes outside to record when they heard power being used and we studied about power in science through light and sound. They wrote articles for a class newspaper that outlined powerful people in our school and my personal favourite, we discussed imbalance in power, which led to yoga during our gym periods.

As I move into my last theme of the year, Agents of Change, Mission Impossible music plays in the background while my students are designing badges and creating surveys which will provide them with the data they need to make changes within our school.

Goal #7 – Ensure Environmental Sustainability

When my colleagues ask me how I find time to teach the curriculum, I say: The themes are my curriculum, they are what drive me to make connections for my students.

March 23, 2012March 23, 2012 Alison.Board Communication Tools, Diverse Learning Needs, Resources, Use of Technology

Technology in Grade 1& 2

After reading about how technology has engaged the students in Carmen’s class, I thought about the same affect it has had on children in grade 1 & 2. The activities using media definitely developed throughout the year as the children gained confidence and skill in their use of computers (some had to learn how to move the mouse and click).

At the beginning of the year the children played educational games on the computers in the computer lab. Then we learned how to log on individually with a password (this took time). Then students wanted to create using KidPix software, so we worked our 2-D drawings for math into a computer lesson and printed off our creations to share with one another. As the year progressed, we integrated the use of video cameras to record math songs that they created. This was such a success that the children wanted to also record their “Public Service Announcements” (PSA) that they were working on. This project integrated persuasive writing, media literacy, and science.

Once the PSAs were completed there was some difficulty sharing the videos for viewing. A colleague suggested we use VoiceThread, which would enable all the videos to be downloaded to one location and would also allow the students to view and comment on each others work. There is a cost for this service ($15 for 2 months), however, it was already worth it when the children gazed in awe at themselves and their classmates. We are now in the next step of using the technology which enables the children to provide feedback to one another’s PSAs using either a voice tool or a comment box for writing.

This technology has extended the children’s learning for media literacy, adding metacognition and peer feedback. If you are interested visit Voicethread for teachers at http://voicethread.com/products/k12/.

March 21, 2012 Erin.Grewar Learning in a Real Life Context, Professional Learning and Growth

Communicating (OMG) in French – A New Approach

I know that it can be a real struggle to get your students to communicate in French. Although initially enthusiastic in grade 4, by the time they hit grades 7 and 8, they are reluctant at best. I recently went to a workshop regarding the communicative approach which made me evaluate (apart from being forced to during the course of the session with those reflection activities) my current teaching practices. It’s always rewarding and energizing to be presented with a challenge and new ideas to try out. For those of you who might not have had the chance to attend any PD on the new philosophy rocking the world of FSL, I thought I’d sum up a few things to take into consideration when planning your next oral activity.

choose a reasonable task that reflects student interests and abilities
prepare students thoroughly by planning a progression of short activities that incorporate increasing degrees of communication
with your students, establish a list of expressions that they will need to use during the activity and have it displayed for reference
MAKE them communicate in French but in a way that is meaningful and authentic

Now that you hopefully have some food for thought, I’ll update you in my future blogs as to which activities I’ve created and tried out. In the meantime, loosen up, collaborate with your students for some ideas, be creative and have fun!

February 28, 2012February 29, 2012 Alison.Board Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Planning

Opportunities Beyond the Classroom

This week is our school’s Speech Arts Competition. It was introduced at a staff meeting with the hopes that all classes would participate. Some teachers are enthusiastic, some are not participating, while others (like myself) are using it as an opportunity to focus on oral language skills. I am presenting it to the students more as an opportunity than a “have-to”. There are kids who are thrilled to create or memorize a poem, add dramatic flair and share it with the class. There are others that are anxious about selecting a poem, being able to memorize it, and having to present in front of their peers. Despite emails of worry from concerned parents of the anxious children, I continue to remain calm and relaxed about the process. It is the process that I want the children to learn from. If a few of the students are too nervous, they can recite their piece to me quietly when students are working independently. This option has eased their worry, however I am sure that when the time comes they will be fine, as a sense of community and support already exists within the group.

There are so many opportunities at our school for those who are confident expressing themselves in writing, visual art, or sports. I think that the Speech Arts Contest will appeal to those students who have abilities in oral language and drama. There are so many forms of expression, yet children are often presented with the same options. As teachers, we need to look for opportunities to explore other options and to provide students with a multitude of languages for self-expression, whether it is sculpture, nature, music, or math. I have one student who is often invisible in group discussions. Yet, if I play music or show a video with music, her face lights up, she moves to the beat, and she becomes the most visible.

With over 30 teachers and 500 students, our school buzzes with activity and events. It can be overwhelming for some (like myself) to participate in all the opportunities that are created by various staff members, such as growing seeds and tending our school garden, attending the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, participating in food drives, or sending Valentine’s to the Senior’s home, in addition to your own class trips and activities. However, I have realized that these are opportunities for the students to experience forms of expression beyond what I may provide in the classroom. If you can connect these opportunities with your own plans (such as graphing for Data Management during the food drives), the learning and the experience becomes authentic.

January 29, 2012January 30, 2012 Roz.Geridis Assessment, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Diverse Learning Needs, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth

Engaging students in Visual Arts

Over the last 2 weeks, my class have been working on this wonderful visual art activity which is also connected to grade 6 aboriginal studies. We began by studying the art work of Norval Morrisseau, an Aboriginal Canadian artist (books are available at the public library). Morrisseau’s style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors. I shared with the boys the plan for this project was for everyone to complete their own version, then we would do body images of 1/3 of the class which will end up being painted on the Junior Stairway walls.

The boys were very excited about this project and I really tried to encourage their interest and ownership of the art work. As a class, we moved along for the boys to use an overhead and trace their head, hands, or feet to complete their own versions of Morrisseau themed pictures. The boys then had a lesson on drawing the shapes inside their images (guiding them to leave enough room for their black line). Primary colours were used to colour the inside of the shapes and the background was in secondary colours. Using only 2 overheads for the whole class, this stage of project took a little longer than a whole afternoon.

At the end of the first day, we had a discussion as to what the images of the boys would portray. The next day, the boys were asked to bring in items which reflect them in a sport type of way; for example, scooters, hockey equipment, soccer balls, swimming goggles. The boys selected the images to represent themselves as a class. They selected swimming, cart wheel, hockey, soccer, mountain climbing, and baseball. We were planning on adding someone reading and a second image but time was an issue which didn’t allow our plan to fully work out. Using the overhead, in groups of three, the boys then traced their image on life size paper. As others were tracing, the first group would then cut out their image. After lunch, we were able to finish off full body tracing for the rest of the groups and began (the groups completed the cutting) adding the shapes within their image. This aspect of the project needed to be reviewed with the class a few times. The first lesson was on the personal image, the second mini lesson was to remind them of what to do to begin on the larger image, the third mini lesson was to go through their larger image and fine tune their shapes. This took us a full day.

The next day, we taped up all body images on the stairwell walls. Looking to see which image should go where. This was an adult only decision. Once image placement was decided, the boys then traced their image on the wall. After every image was traced on the wall, some boys began painting the background colours while on the opposite side of the wall other boys were tracing their shapes in their image. This process took another full day. Each wall needed two coats and a day to dry between coats.

The fourth and fifth day, the boys were painting the shapes in each image (in groups of three) and then the black line last. We also needed time for touch ups. At the end of it, the boys were able to add their own signature to a wall which will be there for years to come. We are also painting some thank yous on a wall as all the paint used was donated by a local paint store.

The project took a total of five days and I really would recommend to get it completed in a chunk of time. The interest was there and interruption to your regular programming is not much. It was a week of limited program which was a great time to get to know and have some fun with your students. Remember, this is a visual arts project and it is connected to aboriginal studies. I have assessments for both curriculum areas. To adjust it for any grade, if your school walls are already colourful, you can do something very similiar and use the life size paper to paint and hang on the hallway walls. Also, use visual art as your first curriculum area and find a second curriculum area to connect it to, whether it is social studies or math.

Included are some pictures to help you visualize the project. It was a project completed with a parent (who is also an artist). While she was working in the stairway with the boys, I was in class keeping them on track. The first few days, there was plenty of work to keep the boys busy but by mid day on the fourth day on, the boys had less to do on the art project. That being said, behaviour was amazing!!!! I guess the boys thought if they didn’t manage in class, I couldn’t send them in the hall. Which is a pattern in our class. I definitely had support for this project (administration, artist, and Educational Assistant in the afternoon). I also sent out a letter to the parents informing them of the pending project, the boys working with Latex paint, and dirty clothes coming home (with a tear off signature return). I also asked for volunteers to come in a week later to help paint the final protective coating. I have many teacher and parent volunteers. The boys feel a sense of pride, ownership, and community to their school!

January 16, 2012January 16, 2012 Tina.Ginglo Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

The Whole Child

As a third grade teacher, I sometimes get caught up and distracted by the fast approaching EQAO assessment. Our school doesn’t fair very well in the EQAO world and there is a lot of talk about getting the students ready. One way our school is preparing students for the assessment is by providing them practice runs at previous EQAO questions. As Sangeeta mentioned in a previous post, I also worry about the amount of pen and paper tasks our students complete. Don’t get me wrong, knowing how to read and write are VERY important skills that must be acquired, but there are many ways to learn how to read, THINK and write, technology being one.

As we neared the end of the calendar year, I allowed myself to forget about EQAO and teach the way I taught when I taught grades 4 and 5 and kindergarten! Even though my students receive their music and art instruction from other teachers, I decided to include it in my program as well. Visual literacy, music, drama, art, movement, design and technology were springboards for incredible thinking and prompted the most meaningful and well crafted writing I have assessed so far this year! More importantly, the level of engagement in my class springboard as I observed students focus and participate in ways I was not able to observe when I did not integrate the arts in my teaching.

I know this! Why do I allow myself to get caught up in the EQAO frenzy? Don’t get me wrong. I actually like the EQAO assessment and take the responsibility of teaching STUDENTS the Ontario curriculum very seriously— but sometimes I think we get turned around and teach the CURRICULUM to students. I think there is a difference. My goal for 2012, is to make sure I teach to the WHOLE CHILD everyday and allow students to explore the curriculum in different ways before bringing out the pen and paper:)